Getty Relief pitcher Héctor Neris is coming off a career year. Now a free agent, the hurler is looking to cash in as much as possible.
The MLB free agent market has been moving slowly, but that isn’t stopping available players from trying to land a life-changing amount of money in their next contract. Relief pitcher Héctor Neris is included in that group.
“SOURCE: Relief Pitcher Hector Neris is seeking a 3-year, $50 million deal. The #Yankees is showing a lot of interest in him,” the z101 Digital’s Héctor Gómez, a Dominican journalist, posted on X (formerly Twitter) on January 17.
Neris, who will be 35 in June, spent each of his last two seasons with the Houston Astros after playing for the Philadelphia Phillies for eight years. Across 71 appearances (68.1 innings) in 2023, Neris posted a 6-3 record with a 1.71 ERA, 1.05 WHIP and 77 strikeouts. Baseball Reference pegged his value at 2.5 WAR, which is a new single-season career-high mark. It was the third time he surpassed 2.0 bWAR as a big leaguer and the first time he’s done it since 2017.
He had an $8.5 million player option to remain in Houston for the 2024 season. He declined it to become a free agent back on November 6, per the Associated Press.
The reported asking price would give Neris an annual average salary of just below $16.7 million. New York Mets closer Edwin Diaz’s $18.6 million salary for 2024 is currently the highest among relief pitchers, per Spotrac.
Can Neris Get Close to His Asking Price?
This sounds like an awfully high ask from Neris. However, he is coming off a career year. And since he’ll soon be turning 35, it could be the last time he can realistically command big money as a free agent. Per Spotrac, Neris has earned just under $27 million during his MLB career.
The pitching market has been hard to pin down this winter. Yoshinobu Yamamoto set a record with his 12-year, $325 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers. But several perceived top options remain unsigned and others signed for less than projected.
Shōta Imanaga received a four-year, $53 million deal from the Chicago Cubs after reports that he could get a contract north of $100 million. The San Francisco Giants are converting Jordan Hicks back to a starting pitcher while paying him $44 million over the next four seasons. Meanwhile, top starters Jordan Montgomery and Blake Snell remain unsigned. Snell’s having two Cy Young Awards is an attractive selling point, but his current asking price of $270 million over nine years, according to the Daily News’ Bill Madden, is way too high for interested teams.
Closer Josh Hader is also still available and having a tough time finding a team that will meet his high contract demands. According to SNY’s Andy Martino, Hader is seeking more than what Diaz received from the Mets.
So, it seems as though it could be hard for Neris to get a $50 million payday.
MLB Teams Currently Linked to the Free Agent Reliever
MLB Trade Rumors published a rundown of Neris’ market on January 13. The Astros and St. Louis Cardinals were both mentioned as teams that have been connected to him. However, the two squads with the most interest in the right-hander include the Texas Rangers and New York Yankees.
MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand reported Neris’ market was picking up steam on January 13, with both Texas and New York appearing to be out in front.
Hector Neris’ market is becoming active, with the Yankees and Rangers emerging as potential frontrunners to sign the reliever, per sources.
Regardless of whether Neris gets close to his rumored asking price, there’s a chance he’ll have to wait for other top free agent hurlers to sign or get close to signing before he can find a home for 2024.